Stuck with you
by Fear the unicorn
Summary: Shikamaru and Ino always argue about everything. They get assigned a mission alone together and their perspectives on each other change drastically. Takes place over 8 days, each day is a new chapter. A shikaino story
1. Chapter 1

Asuma and Choji groaned at the two genin arguing in front of them. They did this practically everyday and everyday was more annoying than the last.

"What are they arguing about now?" Asuma asked.

"Who has the better jutsu." Choji answered.

"Your jutsu needs mine!" Shikamaru yelled

"Your jutsu just makes people copy you. You can't do much without hurting yourself!" Ino shot back.

"Your jutsu isn't even a fighting jutsu." Shikamaru argued

"It can be unlike yours, it can be used for fighting and espionage!" Ino yelled

"You can miss way easier than I can!" Shikamaru yelled

"You can't keep yours up nearly as long as I can!" Ino yelled. Shikamaru was about to protest until Asuma stepped in.

"You two need to stop fighting." Asuma said. Ino rolled her eyes and Shikamaru scowled

"Your jutsus are meant to be used together you idiots." Asuma explained

"Well I don't need him!" Ino yelled

"Like I need her!" Shikamaru groaned as he folded his arms over his chest. Ino really did push Shikamaru's buttons. He was usually so calm, not found her. "

"You two need each other." Choji chimed him. Both Ino and Shikamaru glared.

"You guys need some time together." Asuma decided. "What if they do a mission alone?" Choji joked. "

"That's great idea Choji." Asuma decided.

"No way!" Ino yelled. Shikamaru nodded his head in agreement.

"You two are going on a mission together. We need to deliver a message to the Sand Village. Nothing special so you two can do it." Asuma explained. Ino pretended to faint and Shikamaru groaned

"That's a three day trip just to get there!" Shikamaru groaned

"Actually the main path is closed for rebuilding, you two are taking the road less taken. Far less dangerous actually, just longer." Asuma said

"How much longer?" Ino questioned when she sat up

"Just another extra day. 4 days there and 4 days back." Asuma answered "

Eight days alone with him!" Ino gasped

"Lord help me." Shikamaru said.

"Well tommorow be ready by the gates at 8 am, I'll be there to make sure you both go." Asuma said.

"Hey Ino are you okay?" Choji asked. when he saw his friend's pale face.

"8 days with him." She muttered before she fainted for real.

"Leave it to Ino to make problem even worse." Shikamaru groaned.

"Well today was nice, come on Choji let's go eat" Asuma said he walked away

"What about me?" Shikamaru asked "

You can watch Ino." Asuma smirked. Shikamaru rolled his eyes at his teacher and then at his teammate. "

"What a drag." He said. Shikamaru shook his teammate gently until she started to stir.

"8 days." She mumbled as she opened her big blue eyes.

"Where did everyone go?" Ino questioned

"They left , we should do the same." Shikamaru answered.

Shikamaru ran to the gate half an hour late.

"You're late." Ino said dryly

"Well here's the paper. Not a big deal if anyone gets it on the way, but try to not lose it. You can look also." Asuma said as he handed Ino the note.

"If it's no big deal then why do we have to deliver it?" Ino asked

"It's a mission" Asuma answered

"Seems troublesome." Shikamaru sighed.

"just go." Asuma groaned. With that Shikamaru and Ino started their right day adventure. The first hour was in complete silence as the two walked through the forest until they saw a trail.

"This is so boring." Ino finally said. Shikamaru nodded and Ino frowned

"Talking would pass the time you know." sheadded

"When you start talking, you don't stop." Shikamaru replied.

"Well what do you want to do?" Ino asked

"Anything but this mission." Shikamaru answered

"Well that's not an option, think of something else." Ino said

"I want to sleep."

"Try again." Ino said annoyed

"Fine, how about doing that question thing." Shikamaru said.

"What question thing?" Ino asked puzzled

"When we ask each other questions like favorite color or food." He answered

"Sure lets do that." Ino smiled

"What's your favorite color?"

"purple, duh. Favorite game?" Ino asked

"Shoji or Go, I can't decide. What's your favorite part about being a ninja?" Shikamaru asked

"Helping people out, you?"

"My parents can get off my back for being too lazy. Favorite animal?"

"A dove, it symbolizes love." Ino answered happily. The questions continued for awhile until Shikamaru and Ino couldn't think of anything else to say.

"I'm tired." Shikamaru yawned

"We should take a short break, we've been walking for hours." Ino said as she sat on the grass. Shikamaru stretched himself out on the grass an stated at the clouds

"You really like clouds don't you?" Ino asked

"Yep, what do you like to do to relax?" Shikamaru asked

"I've always liked stargazing. When it's not night I like looking at flowers." Ino asters sweetly.

"You do love your flowers." Shikamaru said before he closed his eyes to drift off to sleep. Ino saw a flower field and walked to it. It was mostly just wildflowers but Ino didn't care. She started stringing them together to make a chain. She kept going until it make a little crown. She laughed as she put it on her head. Ahe turned and saw Shikamaru smiling in his sleep. She knelt beside him and put the flower crown on his head and giggled.

"What are you laughing at?" He mumbled. His eyes cracked open to see Ino's smiling face over him and sat up. He felt something on his head and reached up.

"What's on my head?" He asked. He pulled the crown off his head and chuckled.

"Where'd you get these?" Shikamaru asked. He looked around and saw no flowers.

"There were some over there." Ino answered as she pointed towards the flower fields.

"You shouldn't be going off on your own, you could get in trouble." He scolded

"Whatever, we should get moving." Ino huffed as she got up. With that the two walked deeper into the forest. They had small conversations until it began to get dark.

"We should stop here." Shikamaru stated.

"We can still keep going for another hour though." Ino explained.

"Bit this is a perfect spot to stare at the stars, they sure look nice tonight." Shikamaru said slyly. Ino gasped when she looked up and saw the beautiful sky.

"No we need to keep going." Ino shook her head and kept walking. Shikamaru stopes her by grabbing her wrist.

"Ino this is the best spot we'll have to camp out for awhile. We need to stop here." His voice was firm but his eyes were gentle.

"Fine." Ino surrendered and she skipped down to the grass. She stated up at the stars in awe.

"I'm going to sleep." Shikamaru yawned.

"It's a full moon!" Ino squealed happily. Shikamaru sighed and sat down next to her.

"Clouds beat stars any day." He smirked

"No way." Ino argued. The little argument went on for awhile until a cold breeze swept through the forest. Ino curses at herself for forgetting to bring her jacket. She was wearing her normal shinobi clothes and shivered because they weren't the warmest.

"It's cold." Shikamaru groaned. He looked over and saw Ino shivering, well she was trying to hide it but it wasn't working.

"be a gentleman Shikamaru." Kept ringing in his head.

"Shut up inner shikamaru!" He thought. He was sounding like Sakura now. Ino looked puzzlingly at him.

"Are you okay?" She asked

"Just tired." He yawned. Ino shivered again and Shikamaru sighed. He took of his jacket and handed it to Ino.

"You don't have to." Ino started but Shikamaru stopped her.

"Just take it." He said. Ino put it on , it want much better but it did help.

"Thanks." Ino said.

"Aren't you cold?" Ino asked

"This is nothing for guys." He answered and winked. sadly Ino had already fallen asleep and didn't hear his answer.

"Someone fell asleep before me, weird." Shikamaru said to himself before he too fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Shikamaru woke up and moaned. He was hoping to get more sleep but he knew whenever he woke up, he couldn't sleep. Shikamaru guessed it was still pretty early in the morning and sighed. He saw Ino sleeping peacefully next to him. He couldn't wake her up now.

"What a drag." He said to himself. Shikamaru prepared his weapons and got everything together so when Ino woke up they could get moving. Only a week left until the mission was over. He thought about what everyone was doing back at home. Choji and Asuma must be happy to have some quiet time. Shikamaru decided to stare up at the clouds for the rest of the time. They were a gray color that didn't seem happy at all. It will probably rain today, Ino will have a fit, the walk will be miserable, this day was going to suck. Shikamaru was brought out of his thoughts by a big yawn. Ino stretched her narrow arms and looked around.

"You're up before I am, why didn't you wake me up?" Ino asked

"You looked peaceful for once, I didn't want to mess that up." He answered. Ino realized she was still wearing Shikamaru's jacket and quickly took it off.

"Thanks." She said as she got up to stretch more. Shikamaru noticed how Ino's body was so graceful even right after she woke up.

"Ready to go?" she asked. Shikamaru nodded and they headed off.

"According to the map we are supposed to take this path." Ino said when they reached a fork in the road. Ino pointed to the darker path and groaned.

"Why can't we ever take an easy nice route?" Ino asked

"Because it would make our lives easier and that can't happen." Shikamaru groaned. The path was dark and not exciting at all. No animals had come through and trees were scattered around.

"I feel like we're in a horror movie." Shikamaru stated

"I hate horror movies, they're not even scary." Ino said.

"You probably like romance movies."

"How'd you guess?" Ino asked

"That's all you talk about. Romance this and romance that." Shikamaru mimicked. Before Ino could give a response a rustling up hard stopped them in their tracks. Ino reached for a shuriken. The rustling got louder and now it sounded like it was coming from behind.

"We don't get many visitors out here." A voice said. Shikamaru grasped his kunai and looked for where the voice could be coming from.

"We're surrounded." He whispered to Ino. A figure emerged from each section if the path. Four people were now staring at the two genin.

"They're not worth our time." The one farthest away said.

"But we could have some fun with them." The one closest to Ino said.

"What's the point, it's not like they have anything useful." The one closest to Shikamaru stated

"What if they do?" The fourth one asked. Ino froze as the one closest to her took a step closer.

"They have weapons, that's pretty suspicious." He said.

"What exactly do you guys want anyway?" Shikamaru asked annoyed

"Valuables mostly." The first guy said. Shikamaru chuckled and Ino nodded.

"What?" The guy by Shikamaru asked

"Well we don't have anything special, we're just running an errand." Ino said confidently.

"No one goes on this path to run an errand. If you're gonna lie at least lie well." The last guy snorted.

"She could be worth something." The guy by Ino said as he got closer. Shikamaru pulled her away and closer to him.

"Don't even think about it." Shikamaru threatened

"Are you two on a date or something?" The third on asked curiously. He seems like the dumb one.

"Lets make a deal, we like money and you like living right." The first one said. Shikamaru's eyes narrowed and kept his grip on Ino.

"There are kids, why would they have serious money?" The second asked

"That guy is from the Nara clan, they're pretty rich." The first one observed

"The girl's from the Yamamake clan. She's the daughter if the head I think, they'd pay quite a bit for her." The second one added.

"You'd get your butt kicked not money if you threatened me!" Ino spat.

"We outnumber them, we can get whatever we want from them." The third one said as he counted the people and nodded. The four people gathered together and seemed to be thinking of a plan.

"What do we do?" Ino asked.

"We have to fight them, if I can hold them down you can fight thyme and we can run." Shikamaru explained.

"Shadow possession jutsu!" Shikamari yelled as he made his hand signal. They were trapped in his shadow. He took his kunai and turned so that two guys would be holding a kunai to another's back. He made a motion of stabbing and one person fell. Ino threw her shurikens and two more fell.

"You only caught three, where's the other?" Ino asked as she scanned the area. A flying kuhai cane from a tree. Shikamaru and Ino were both able to dodge it but were know separated. The fourth guy jumped down from the trees and laughed.

"You two know how to fight pretty well." he observed. He grabbed a kunai and went towards Shikamaru.

"Mind transfer jutsu!" Ino yelled as she used her jutsu. He stopped right in his tracks as Ino fell unconscious.

"Take my body and get as far from here as you can, I'll stay in his body as long as I can." Ino ordered from inside the man'a body. Shikamaru carefully cooped Ino's unconscious body and ran down the path. Ino sighed and sat down.

"This is going to be very boring." She said to herself. She just had to wait until her chakra was getting low and then she could go back to her actual self.

Meanwhile Shikamaru had stopped running and now was walking down the eerie path.

"What a drag." He complained. He must've been walking for at least an hour with Ino still in his arms and he was getting pretty tired.

"Why do have so much chakra, it's really troublesome sometimes." He said to Ino. The sky was getting darker and a light rain was coming. Ino stirred in his arms and her eyes fluttered open.

"You took too long" Shikamaru complained. He realized he was still carrying Ino and gently set her down.

"I had to make sure we had enough distance between is if he follows." Ino shot back. Her eyes still looked distant and her walking was shaky.

"How much chakra did you use?" Shikamaru asked

"Most of it." She answered shakingly. She squinted at the sky and frowned.

"It's going to rain." She said. She lost her balance at that moment and tripped. There was a loud thud when she hit the ground.

"We should take a break here." Shikamaru said kneeling beside her.

"But we a still have so much ground to cover and it's going to rain hard soon." Ino pouted

"We won't get very far if you trip every ten minutes."

"Fine, only a short break though." Ino said.

"You can't waste chakra like this anymore." Shikamaru scolded. Ino still looked dazed and dizzy. They knew that they had to keep going, but they also knew Ino couldn't go that at in her condition. Ino stood up and winced, she quickly hid it with a smile.

"Let's go!" She said cheery as ever. Shikamaru still seemed skeptical so Ino akipoed around him.

"See I'm fine." She said.

"Alright, but take it easy okay." Shikamaru sighed. As they walked Ino would occasionally stumble or stop but no other problems occurred.

"Can we stop here?" Shikamaru asked after awhile.

"I'm fine we can keep going." Ino replied as she kept walking.

"Why are you so stubborn?" He asked.

"I like getting my way." Ino said as if it was expected. She stopped to lean on a tree and take a deep breath.

"You're pushing yourself to hard Ino." Shikamaru scolded

"Can you stop scolding me!" Ino yelled as she got off the tree and promptly fell over. Shikamaru suppressed a laugh as he walked over

"We can't stop yet Shikamaru." Ino explained weakly. She was exhausted and weak.

"That's true, but you can't even stand straight." Shikamaru said. Shikamaru closed his eyes and cupped his fingers, thinking.

"You can't walk, but I can." Shikamaru finally said. Ino raised an eyebrow at her teammate.

"I can carry you on my back until you have enough energy." he said, answering her unasked question.

"Oh, like a piggyback ride!" Ino squealed. Shikamaru rolled his eyes, but couldn't gel but smile.

"Hop on." He said. Ino went onto us back and ordered,

"Onward!" Shikamaru groaned at her comment. Onve she was secure he strayed walking

"Am I heavy?" Ino asked

"Not really actually." Shikamaru answered.

"Well a girl must look good." Ino said happily.

"Guys don't like girls that are super skinny you know."

"They don't?" Ino asked

"If you have a little weight on you, you look healthier. " Shikamru answered plainly.

"Well giving me a piggyback ride must be nothing for you then." Ino said

"It would be easier of your ponytail would stop flying around." Shikamaru muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Ino questioned

"uh, nothing." He said nervously

"my hair is going to look gross after this mission." Ino complained

"No one cares that much." Shikru sighed

"Sasuke likes girls with pretty long hair." Ino said romanticaly

"He couldnt care less about someone's hair."

"Could too!" Ino shot back. The rain started pouring at that moment and Ino shrieked.

"It's just rain." Shikaru groaned. The rain got harder and Ino shrieked again.

"Fine lets stop." Shikamaru said as he saw a hollow tree.

"That's fortunate." Ino said as she got off Shikamaru's back.

"You're telling me." Shikamaru replied as he shook the tree to make sure it was sturdy. He nodded and motioned for Ino to follow.

"Stupid rain." Ino muttered. She was drying off her long ponytail while Shikamaru was pretending to be asleep.

"You're a terrible actor." Ino told him.

"So are you, I know you don't care about the rain. You just wanted to give me a break from carrying you even though you're not recovered yet." Shikamaru shot back.

"You're arms were hurting, your grip was pretty lose. You would've dropped me sooner or later." Ino explained.

"I wasn't going to drop you."

"You just wanted to prove that you're tough." Ino shrugged

"no I didn't." Shikamaru argued even though he knew it was true.

"Why else would you carry me for hours without a break?" Ino challenged

"Breaks are too troublesome ." Shikamaru lied, he felt his face getting red.

"Well this break is going to be pretty long." Ino decided

"why?"

"because we are both exhausted and that rain isn't going to let up anytime soon." Ino said

"It's getting late too, we made good time today I think." Shikamaru said. Ino like out and realized how dark it had gotten.

"We should stop here for the night." She said

"fine by me"

"That guy didn't follow us." Ino realized

"Nope, pretty lucky I guess." Shikamaru said agitated

"They were so stupid, we beat them easily." Ino said. Shikamaru nodded and turbed away so Ino wouldn't see the anger on his eyes.

"We have to be more careful next time." Shikamaru stated flatly

"What's wrong?" Ino's asked.

"Nothing, just tired." Shikamaru answered with a smile on his face.

"Drop the fake smile, what's wrong?" Ino asked more fierce this time.

"I just wondered how those guys knew what clans we belonged to. Maybe I was easy because Nara men wear their hair like how I do. I just don't get how they knew you were from the Yamanaka clan or that you were the head's daughter." Shikamaru explained

"Maybe they see the resemblance between my dad and I." Ino suggested

"Theyvhust seemed to recognize you pretty quickly, like they already knew you. Also the fact that they wanted only you is pretty suapicious." Shikamaru added

"Maybe it was because I was the girl." Ino said.

"That's what happens in movies, not in real life." Shikamaru said as he clenched his fist. Ino moved closer and narrowed her eyes at him.

"Nothing happened Shikamaru." She said reassuringly.

"I know." Shikamaru said as peace came back into his face and he unclench re his fost.

"I'm sleeping now." He said as he turned away. Ino nodded and she turned way and also fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Note: When the words are _italic _the inner mind of Shikamaru is talking in his mind, the **bold **words are from Ino's mind(like Sakura if this makes sense). I thought it would be a funny touch to the story.

"Wake up!" Ino yelled into her sleeping teammate's ear. He jolted upright with shock and then moaned,

"I hate mornings."

"We all do, now get up we need to move out." Ino said as she stood up with her hands on her hips.

"Someone got their energy back, yay." Shikamaru said sarcastically as he stretched

"Only two more days until we reach the village." Ino said as she looked at the map to town. She packed her weapons and Shikamaru did the same. The sun was out again, but the air was musty.

"Perfect traveling weather." Shikamaru mumbled. Ino had already began to walk and Shikamaru walked slowly behind her.

"Hurry up!" Ino yelled.

"I liked you better when you were knocked out, not as bossy." Shikamaru told Ino.

"Nothing would get done if I wasn't bossy." Ino explained.

"Eventually things could get done." Shikamaru said

"Not as well as they would if I'm in charge." Ino said.

"They'd get done better." Shikamaru said. At that Ino whipped around and strode up to Shikamaru. She handed him the map and the note.

"Prove it." She challenged

"Fine, but you can't take over." Shikamaru agreed.

"You're the boss." Ino said as she saluted him. Shikamaru scanned the map and frowned

"Where are we?" He asked.

"How would I know? You're the one in charge." Ino said ,snobbish as ever.

"I think we are here. No there, or are we there?" Shikamaru said as he pointed to places on the map. Ino gave a dramatic sigh and pointed to where they were.

"I'm the boss starting now." Shikamaru said confidently. _Oh who am I kidding, I don't want to be in charge! That's why Ino takes charge! Then again I can't let her win. But this mission is doomed! _

Ino skipped behind Shikamaru as he hung over the map. He was trying to figure out which path to take.

"Wait, we were supposed to take the other path back there." Shikamaru realized.

"Okay whatever you say." Ino said happily. **He's blowing it! This is the fifth time that we had to turn back. Come on Ino don't take charge, let him handle it. You can't let him win! But he's going to screw us and we'll have to make up another day! This is why I'm the bossy one!**

"Let's take a break here." Shikamaru decided as he say down. He was about ready to give up, but then he saw Ino smirking triumphantly and decided against it.

"How far are we from the stopping point?" Ino asked. Asuma had marked places down that would be good places to stop.

"Well, um." Shikamaru started nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck. Ino looked over and frowned. They had been walking for hours and it looked like they had made only an hour of progress. She took a deep breath and smiled, biting back her tongue so she wouldn't lash out on him. **Okay Ino, gently coax him into giving me the power. Screw that I'm taking charge again!**

"I can't take it anymore! Can we switch back?" Both of the shouted at the same time. Shikamaru threw the map at Ino and Ino charged in front of him.

"Break time is over!" She yelled as she continued to walk. Shikamaru gladly followed.

"We wasted lots of time that have to make to now. Hurry up slacker!" Ino ordered. Shikamaru didn't care of he got ordered around as long as he didn't have to make the orders. It was pretty remarkable how much ground they covered until it started to get dark.

"Nice job." Shikamaru complimented. They Mage it to their rest spot just in time.

"Thank you." Ino thanked. They found a nice clearing to stop at. The had built a small fire and they were staring at the stars.

"I guess your bossiness isn't that bad." Shiakmaru sighed

"It was kind of nice to relax like you for a bit." Ino said sweetly. Her big blue eyes looked especially dreamy in the moonlight as she looked at Shiakmaru.

"I'm going to wash off at the river." Ino stated as she got up.

"Ino, it's getting kind of dark to take shower." Shikamaru said

"I'll be quick." Ino said as she walked off.

Ino had reached the river and she was dunking her hair in when she heard a rustling. She quickly got dressed again, she forgot to put the bandages on her stomach though.

"Who's there?" She asked. Shikamaru emerged with an annoyed look on his face

"You were taking a long time, I got worried. I didn't look luckily." Shikamaru explained

"What do you mean lucky?" Ino questioned

"Seeing a friend naked would scar me for life." Shikamaru said plainly as hewalked back towards the clearing. Ino hurried after, forgetting about the bandahes she left behind.


	4. Chapter 4

Ino woke up first again,but she realized she left her bandages at the river. She hirried over to the river and saw the bandages. As she was securing them onto her stomach she felt someone's presence.

"Thought I forgot about you?" A voice asked. Ino turned and saw the man from the path two days ago behind her.

"What do you want?" She asked.

"First I need to complete what we started, well before you killed them. That was getting you, second I need to kill that boy that was with you for revenge." he explained as he moved closer

"What do you want me for?" Ino asked

"We've been planning this out for awhile now, we need the money." He answered.

"It took you this long to try and get me. You're still going to fail." Ino said as she grabbed a shuriken. Ino threw it, bit he dodged it.

"You only won because they got caught off guard, I'm not like that." He said confidently. Ino glared at him. He could probably outrun her and he seemed stronger. At that moment he lunged for her and seized her. She screamed as he put a kunai to her throat. One arm held her securely across her stomach as the other was holding the kunai. She screamed again and tried to kick him but realized it was hopeless.

"Now we wait for the Nara boy to come, I'll kill him and take you. Plan successful." He said happily.

* * *

A scream jolted Shikamaru awake. He didn't see Ino by him and another scream came.

"Ino!" He yelled as he ran through the clearing. It didn't take long for him to find her, and the guy from before. He froze when he saw the kunai to her throat.

"Didn't take you very long, that's good." the man said.

"You followed us after all." Shikamaru said as he glared.

"Let's cut to it. I want to kill you and you don't want me to kill her, seeks pretty obvious what needs to be done." The man said.

"Shikamaru think about the mission. Don't worry about me." Ino told him.

"Who cares about a stupid mission. I do care about someone trying to kill you though." Shikamaru said as he moved closer. The man put the kunai closer to Ino's neck and Shikamaru stopped.

"it would be best if you stayed there." He said. The man pulled the kunai from Ino and threw it at Shikamaru. Ino screamed when it made contact.

"A substitution!" Ino gasped with Joy when Shikamaru turned into a log Shikamaru reappeared behind them and panted a kunai into his back. Ino dropped to the ground, but moved out if the way of the man falling. She was shaking when Shikamaru came over.

"Are you okay Ino?" He asked.

"Yeah." She mumbled. She had a small cut on her neck but other Aragon taht she was fine.

"You're shaking." He observed. Tears started to come down her cheeks as she looked up at him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and started crying into his shoulder. He stroked her hair as he looked over and scowled at the person he just killed without a second thought. Her body had stopped trembling by the time Shikamaru finally looked back at her.

"I'm sorry." She whispered

"For what?" Shikamaru asked

"For being useless and getting you caught up in all of this. It's all my fault." She said shakingly.

"You're not useless and it's not your fault." Shikamaru said as he held her apart from him by the shoulders. His eyes were full of worry but he had a warm smile that he never showed. Her face was so vulnerable when Shikamaru saw it. Her face fellas silent tears ran down her cheeks.

"I'm so reckless. It gets me in trouble and hurts everyone else." She cried.

"You know being reckless isn't the worst thing." Shikamaru said

"how?" Ino asked

"Being reckless can make you realize things. If you run into a situation quickly the enemy won't realize what to do." Shikamaru explained. Ino gave a small smile as she stood up.

"If we go at a good pace we can reach town by lunchtime." She said as she went off towards the clearing.

"We don't have to leave yet if you're not ready." Shikamaru told her as he followed

"I just want to get away from here." Ino said as she grabbed the map.

"How did you do the substitution without us seeing?" Ino asked.

"I made one before I reached you guys, i figured I might need one." He explained

"you were right about them knowing who I was. They've been trying to her me for months." Ino said distantly. She looked at the map again and started walking.

"Well they didn't. What matters is that you're safe." He replied

"If you weren't there than who knows where I'd be right now." Ino said sadly.

"You were caught off guard this time. I know youd be fine if you had to face him again. You're one of the strongest people I know." Shikamaru reassured. Ino didn't want to talk after that so the rest of the walk was in silence. When they could finally see the village Ino smiled.

"About time." Shikamaru mumbled. He missed seeing Ino smile, she always made the day happier.

"We are supposed to give this letter to the Kazekage." Ino said as they walked through the gates. They saw trio and Ino walked up.

"Do you know where we can give this to the Kazekage?" She asked

"We're his kids. We'll give it to him for you." The sandy blonde girl answered as she took the note. The two boys next to her looked annoyed.

"You guys are from the leaf village right? " the red head boy asked. Shikamaru nodded. He saw the girl staring at him and he turned away.

"Is that your boyfriend?" The boy with the purple face paint asked when he ppunted to Shikamaru.

"Him? No that's Shikamaru, he's my teammate." Ino said. Shikamaru sniffed and yhe girl giggled.

"What?" He asked her.

"You seem jealous. " she answered. His face got red as he shook his head. Ino eyed the girl suspiciously as the girl moved closer to Shikamaru. Ino groaned as she pulled him away.

"She's flirting with you. Flirt back!" Ino hissed.

"What? No way." Shikamaru scoffed.

"When a girl flirts with you, you're supposed to flirt back." Ino protested with her hand on her hips.

"Girls only flirt with Sasuke, well except Hinata. I guess she's more normal than most of you girls anyway." Shikamaru argued back.

"You're hopeless." Ino sighed.

"Love is too troublesome." Shikamaru said.

"No it's not! Love is a magical thing." Ino said dreamingly. Her blue eyes were twinkling as she giggled. She saw the other girl scowl at her and she glared.

"We should get heading back." Ino said suddenly as she pulled Shikamaru towards the town gates. Shikamaru groaned as he let Ino pull him along. Once she released her grip on him she started skipping.

"Why are you skipping?" he questioned

"I'm happy!" She sang. Shikamaru laughed as he saw her skip and sing. It was amazing how she got in a good mood so quickly. Her blonde hair bounced around and her movements were quirky, yet graceful. The sky was getting dark and the two were exhausted from the day's events so they decided to stop. The sky was full of twinkling stars and the two were sitting next to each other watching them.

"The stars are kinda romantic don't you think?"

ino asked.

"I guess."

"What do you find romantic?" She asked

"I don't know. Long walks across something peaceful I guess."

"Like a beach?"

"Sure."

"Thank you for today." Ino suddenly said softly. Shikamaru looked over and saw that in this lighting Ino looked even prettier.

"I forgot to thank you for saving me." she added

"It was nothing." Shikamaru shrugged.

"No it wasn't! You saved my life."

"You know I wouldn't let anything bad happen to you, this was nothing." Shikamaru said. Suddenly Ino pecked him on the cheek and Shikamaru blushed.

"That's my way of thanking you." Ino whispered. Shikamaru couldn't help but smile at her. He saw her eyes flutter closed as he head fell onto his shoulder. Her breathing was calm and soothing. Shikamaru wrapped his arm around her small frame. He let slowly the darkness close around them .


	5. Chapter 5

Shikamaru woke up staring at the bright sky. He moved to sit up but he felt a weight on his chest. When he looked he saw Ino's hear laying gently on it. She must have curled up during the night. She was cuddled into Shikamaru with bits of his mesh shirt in her small fists. Shikamaru saw that his arm was still draped lazily around her small frame. Her long blonde hair tickled his arm slightly. Shikamaru observed that Ino looked even prettier in her sleep. She seemed so at peace and happy. A small smile was on her face as she cuddled closer.

"Shika." She mumbled in her sleep. Shikamaru turned red but still smiled.

"Snap out of! She doesn't like you!" He hissed to himself. Her eyes fluttered quickly before her face went peaceful again. Shikamaru breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't want to move even though the position wasn't very comfortable. He liked the fact that Ino had cuddled into him, even if it was when she was unconscious. Still he didn't want to seem creepy for staring. Her eyes fluttered again as she yawned. Shikamaru pretended to still be asleep to avoid awkwardness. He heard her gasp when she awoke. He prepared himself to get screamed at or hit. Instead Ino said nothing and observed his face. He still had a blush and his face didn't seem calm. She didn't want to disrupt him. She let go of his shirt and waited for him to wake up. Shikamaru pretended to wake up and faked a shocked face. He quickly took his arm off and she sat up. Her face was blushing fiercely. Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"Well, um we should get moving." She stammered.

"Only three more days." Shikamaru added. The two then started their journey into the forest.

"We should play a game." Ino mentioned.

"Why?" Shikamaru questioned

"We need a fun break. All our breaks have been to sleep or eat. Just this one should be kinda fun." Ino explained happily. She made her face look sad so Shikamaru would agree. Which he did.

"What do we play?" Shikamaru asked

"Well I haven't thought that far yet." Ino confessed. Shikamaru groaned.

"What if we go swimming instead?" Ino pleaded.

"We don't have swim gear." He informed

"I packed them, figured it couldn't hurt." Ino said. Shikamaru shrugged and Ino led him to the river. She threw swim trunks at him and she ducked behind some course Ino had to pick bright purple trunks with flowers on them.

"Really Ino, look at these. "Shikamaru groaned once Ino came out. She debuted her new purple bikini that matched the trunks.

"They're adorable!" She giggled as she went into the water. She pouted at Shikamaru until he followed.

"It's cold." He complained.

"You're no fun!" Ino huffed. Shikamaru smirked and Ino raised an eyebrow. In a swift motion Shikamaru struck the water and it splashed Ino. She shrieked and did the same. In no time the two were at a splashing war. Once the two were soaked head to toe they made a truce. The two were drying off when Ino shrieked.

"What's wrong?" Shikamaru asked

"My earring must've fallen off in the water!" Ino cried as she felt her ear. She jumped back into the river and Shikamaru went after.

"So much for drying off." Shikamaru muttered as he searched the water for a silver hoop.

"I found it!" Ino yelled. Shikamaru turned around and saw Ino sitting on some rocks reaching into water. Shikamaru went over and Ino yelled in frustration.

"I can't reach it!" The earring was caught on a twig just out of Ino's reach. The nearest rock was to slippery and small to stand on. Ino got down and sighed heavily, tears brimming her eyes. Those earrings were special to team 10. Shikamaru started to climb rocks and was about to go on the dangerous rock before Ino pulled him back.

"It's too dangerous!" Ino pleaded. Shikamaru waved her off and he said,

"This is nothing." He started climbing again and he went onto the dangerous rock. He reached and grabbed the earring. He held it triumphantly, but slipped and fell into the deep section of the river.

"Shikamaru!" Ino screamed. She saw a hand holding the ring and his head popped up.

"Like I said, this is nothing." He smirked as he swam back to the surface. Ino helped pull him up and she wiped a stray tear that she let fall when he fell.

"You idiot! You had me so worried!" Ino yelled as she hit him over the head. She took the earring and put it in.

"That had you worried! thats what every guy does nowadays." Shikamaru teased.

"Fine next time you almost die I won't be worried." Ino pouted.

"Yes you will." He replis slyly.

"Nope, not one bit." Ino argued as she shook her head. She had dried off so she went back to the bushes to redressed.

"What a drag." Shikamaru groaned. Once Ino was back she ordered fur Shikamaru to change behind te bushes as well.

"But I'm still wet," He protested

"I dont care, we need to get moving." Ino interrupted. So Shikaamru followed her orders and the two restarted their adventure back home. Night had finally come and the two made a camp. Ino made sure to fall asleep away from Shikamaru.

"Good night Shikamaru." Ino said as she drifted off to sleep.

"Good night." He mumbled back, already half way into sleep. His dream went like this;

He was walking through the forest alone. He must have been going to get wood or something. That's when he heard a scream. He instantly recognized it as Ino's and he dashed towards the sound. The screaming got louder until it went silent. he called her name but there was no answer. When he finally reached her, his heart broke. Lying in front if him was Ino, blood pouring out if a wound on her stomach. His knees went weak and he fell to the ground. Ino turned and gave a small, delicate smile. Her lips mouthed his name before her eyes shut. It was then that Shikamaru screamed. He screamed until his throat was too sore to scream anymore. He started Bering his name being called and he the ground was shaking.

"Shikamaru!" Ino yelled as she shook his shoulders. He jolted upright and saw it was still night.

"Wha- what happened?" Shikamaru gasped. His face was sweaty as he sates up at Ino.

"You were having a nightmare. You started screaming and shaking. " Ino explained. She sighed a breath of relief.

"It seemed so real" he choked. His eyes had tears in them.

"It was just a dream." She soothed. Her face still had worry on it.

"It was so horrible." He shuttered. He was still trying to bite back the tears .

"It's okay to cry Shikamaru." Ino stated as she observed his face.

"It was my fault." Shikamaru cried.

"It was just a dream." Ino repeated. Shikamaru started shaking again so Ino wrapped her arms around him to help soothe him.

"It's okay now." She said softly. Shikamaru shook his head and shoved Ino off.

"The dream was about you! It was about you dying and I couldn't save you! You're supposed to be mad, not trying to help me! " he shouted. Ino's face was all hurt as she backed away.

"Obviously I'm not dead so what does it matter! " Ino shouted back

"It's because everyday I spend with you makes me hurt more! I don't go a day without thinking about if you something happened to you and I couldn't save you! then on top of that all you talk about is Sasuke! You wish he was with you instead if me right? If you die, he won't think about it everyday of his life. I will! Don't you get it! I love you and I always will!" Shikamaru confessed. He was shocked at his own words. Ino just stood there with her eyes widened.

"You do?" she whispered.

"I know I'm a subtle guy, but it really was that hard to tell?" Shikamaru asked back.

"I always thought you couldn't stand me." She whispered.

"I didn't want you to know. I thought maybe if I pretended I didn't like you, I could eventually believe it." He answered.

"I'm so stupid." Ino muttered.

"I don't want to say you love me back." Shikamaru said suddenly

"What? Why?" Ino questioned

"Because I wouldn't believe you. Tell me at the end if this trip." Shikamaru answered

"But," Ino started. Shikamaru stopped her and shook his head.

"I want you to be sure." He finished.

"i will be." Ino said back. That the end of their conversation. They both decided to start fresh tommorow and get some sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

"Do I love him?" Ino asked herself. This trip made her see a whole new side of Shikamaru. She realized that he could step up if he was needed. He genuinely cared about her. She never thought he was the type to put his life on the line for anyone, especially not her. He was always the one to run away and get help, not actually help. Shikamaru almost seemed happy to help people out. He was a gentleman too. Sasuke had some of these qualities, but not enough. He actually wasn't that great of a guy anyway, just really attractive. Shikamaru had been with her since they were little. H was always there for her.

"Do I love you?" Ino whispered to Shikamaru faintly. She sighed and looked at the sky. They were set to arrive back home tommorow. Ino still felt bad that Shikamaru couldn't walk well, they needed to get him back home.

"wake up Shikamaru." Ino said as she started to gently shake him.

"I don't like mornings." He groaned when he finally woke up.

"Good morning sunshine." Ino said sarcastically. She helped him stand up and he winced.

"It's fine." Shikamaru smiled wen he saw Ino's worried expression.

"We need to get you some real medical help soon." Ino explained

"All the more reason to get moving." Shikamaru said and grabbed his walking stick. Ino nodded in agreement.

"Ino are you scared of anything?" Shikamaru asked after awhile.

"Big dogs, like really big dogs." Ino answered

"Why dogs?"

"Well when I was younger a big dog attacked me. Well it didn't at first, I was playing with it. I was waiting for you and Choji, you guys were late as always. I was waiting at the shrine and this dog came up. I thought it was cute so I went to pet it. I threw a stIck to play fetch. Everything was going fine until it started chasing me. It tackled me and started snarling. It was about to bite me and then it heard you guys coming and it ran away." Ino explained.

"I remember that. You were lying on the ground when we came. You told us a fog attached you but we didn't believe you." Shikamaru replied

"what are you scared of?" Ino asked

"Losing people I care about. That or moths. Those things are creepy." He answered

"Moths are just ugly butterflies." Ino shrugged

"They're creepy." He shuddered

"I guess."

"What if we meet a group of huge dogs that are eating our families and moths are flying around them. " Ino said

"That would be horrifying." Shikamaru answered

"It would." Ino nodded. A growl interrupted them.

"What was that?" Shikamaru asked. They turned around and two big dogs were facing them.

"You've got to a kidding me!" Ino cried.

"Maybe they'll just walk away?" Shikamaru asked nervously.

"Yeah maybe, or maybe they'll come right towards us!" Ino shrieked as the dogs ran towards them. the two hid behind bushes.

"What do we do now?" Shikamaru asked

"You're the smart one" Ino hissed

"Well we can't outrun them and they'll probably find us in a few minutes." Shikamaru observed . Two loud growls came at that moment.

"Maybe we should split up." Ino suggested

"That won't work, neither if us can attack them on our own." Shikamaru groaned. Then the dogs jumped over the bushes and Ino screamed. The dogs were facing then now with evil looks.

"Run!" Shikamaru yelled as he bolted out if the bushes. One of the dogs followed him, but Ino was still frozen with the other dog nearing her. the dog lunged for him and Shikamaru dodged it, but fell over. He saw the dog looking at his stick and he got an idea.

"Fetch!" He yelled as he hurled the stick into the forest. The dog chased after it. Meanwhile the other dog and jumped onto Ino and pinned her down.

"Get off!" Ino yelled as she punched and kicked it. It eventually got off only to growl and jump back onto her. This time it pinned her arms and legs and was now looming over her, teeth snarling at her. It bit down hard on her shoulder and she screamed in pain. Shikamaru heard this and ran towards her. He knew he couldn't push the dog off and he didn't have anything else to avert it's attention. That's when Shikamaru remembered the stick tied to his leg. He yanked it off and whacked the dog off. He then threw it into teu woods and the dog chased after. InI was whimpering and clutching her shoulder, which now had a deep wound. Blood was coming out quickly and her hand was soon covered in blood. Shikamaru kneeled down to examine the bite.

"That's really bad." He said worried.

"No kidding." Ino winced.

"I get why you're scared of dogs now." Shikamaru said as he looked at Ino's shoulder again. He could see that she was trying not to cry.

"It sucks that we don't have any bandages left to use." Ino groaned. Shikamaru looked at the bandages that covered his body. He took the bandage from his leg and secured it on Ino's shoulder.

"But you need that." Ino protested.

"There's no cut on my leg. You need it. " Shikamaru responded

"But it held the stick to support your leg."

"I don't have that stick anymore."

"What?" Ino questioned

"I used it to fight the dog off you." Shikamaru answered.

"I thought you used your other stick to do that." Ino replied

"I used that stick to make the dog attacking me to leave." He explained.

"But you need those." Ino protested.

"I had to do what had to be done." Shikamaru explained

"You saved me again." Ino sighed. Ino rested her head on Shikamaru's shoulder.

"I always will." Shikamaru replied.

"I know." Ino smiled. Ino gently squeezed his arm and he gave a small smile.

"Are you okay to get going soon?" Shikamaru asked

"yep, are you?"

"I think so." Ino got up and helped Shikamaru stand.

"Now how are you going to walk?" Ino asked

"I can limp." Shikamaru joked.

"I can go back and get some stuff to help." Ino started as she walked off. Shikamaru pulled her wrist back.

"It's too risky. We don't know what else is in there." Shikamaru explained

"Fine. Then I'll help you." Ino suggested.

"How? It's not like you could carry me." Shikamaru questioned. Ino put one of Shikamaru's arms over her good shoulder and wrapped her arm aroun his waist to support him.

"That's how." Ino answered.

"Fine, but you better stop if your arm starts hurting too much." Shikamaru sighed

"Deal." Ino nodded. They weren't too far from a good rest spot so they decided to walk there and then stop. By that time the sun was beginning to set.

"It's so pretty." Ino said in awe.

"I guess." Shikamaru shrugged

"You're such a boy." Ino groaned

"And you're such a girl." He replied.

"Tommorow we go back to the village." Ino realized

"I wonder if anyone missed us."

"Asuma and Choji are probably happy to have some peace and quiet." Ino answered

"We haven't argued as much." Shikamaru observed

"You're right. We haven't really. I guess this trip really was a sucess." Ino replied.

"We should get some sleep for tommorow." Shikamaru said.

"We have a big day tommorow." Ino added. Shikamaru laid down and stared at the sky getting darker.

"Wait Shikamaru." Ino started as she crawled over.

"What is it?" Shikamaru asked

"Can you, hold me. Just until I fall asleep." Ino asked. Shikamaru sat up and raised an eyebrow.

"I feel safer, and this whole trip has taken alot out of me. But you make me feel safe, I know you wouldn't let anything happen to me." Ino explained. Shikamaru smiled and pulled Ino close. Ah rested her head against his chest as she fell into his embrace. She hugged his waist as she began to drift off. Her breathing got steadier until she was asleep. Shikamaru had moved so that he leaned against a tree and Ino was curled up into him. He was supposed to let go when sh was asleep, but he didn't. He didn't know if he ever would.


	7. Chapter 7

"Do I love him?" Ino asked herself. This trip made her see a whole new side of Shikamaru. She realized that he could step up if he was needed. He genuinely cared about her. She never thought he was the type to put his life on the line for anyone, especially not her. He was always the one to run away and get help, not actually help. Shikamaru almost seemed happy to help people out. He was a gentleman too. Sasuke had some of these qualities, but not enough. He actually wasn't that great of a guy anyway, just really attractive. Shikamaru had been with her since they were little. H was always there for her.

"Do I love you?" Ino whispered to Shikamaru faintly. She sighed and looked at the sky. They were set to arrive back home tommorow. Ino still felt bad that Shikamaru couldn't walk well, they needed to get him back home.

"wake up Shikamaru." Ino said as she started to gently shake him.

"I don't like mornings." He groaned when he finally woke up.

"Good morning sunshine." Ino said sarcastically. She helped him stand up and he winced.

"It's fine." Shikamaru smiled wen he saw Ino's worried expression.

"We need to get you some real medical help soon." Ino explained

"All the more reason to get moving." Shikamaru said and grabbed his walking stick. Ino nodded in agreement.

"Ino are you scared of anything?" Shikamaru asked after awhile.

"Big dogs, like really big dogs." Ino answered

"Why dogs?"

"Well when I was younger a big dog attacked me. Well it didn't at first, I was playing with it. I was waiting for you and Choji, you guys were late as always. I was waiting at the shrine and this dog came up. I thought it was cute so I went to pet it. I threw a stIck to play fetch. Everything was going fine until it started chasing me. It tackled me and started snarling. It was about to bite me and then it heard you guys coming and it ran away." Ino explained.

"I remember that. You were lying on the ground when we came. You told us a fog attached you but we didn't believe you." Shikamaru replied

"what are you scared of?" Ino asked

"Losing people I care about. That or moths. Those things are creepy." He answered

"Moths are just ugly butterflies." Ino shrugged

"They're creepy." He shuddered

"I guess."

"What if we meet a group of huge dogs that are eating our families and moths are flying around them. " Ino said

"That would be horrifying." Shikamaru answered

"It would." Ino nodded. A growl interrupted them.

"What was that?" Shikamaru asked. They turned around and two big dogs were facing them.

"You've got to a kidding me!" Ino cried.

"Maybe they'll just walk away?" Shikamaru asked nervously.

"Yeah maybe, or maybe they'll come right towards us!" Ino shrieked as the dogs ran towards them. the two hid behind bushes.

"What do we do now?" Shikamaru asked

"You're the smart one" Ino hissed

"Well we can't outrun them and they'll probably find us in a few minutes." Shikamaru observed . Two loud growls came at that moment.

"Maybe we should split up." Ino suggested

"That won't work, neither if us can attack them on our own." Shikamaru groaned. Then the dogs jumped over the bushes and Ino screamed. The dogs were facing then now with evil looks.

"Run!" Shikamaru yelled as he bolted out if the bushes. One of the dogs followed him, but Ino was still frozen with the other dog nearing her. the dog lunged for him and Shikamaru dodged it, but fell over. He saw the dog looking at his stick and he got an idea.

"Fetch!" He yelled as he hurled the stick into the forest. The dog chased after it. Meanwhile the other dog and jumped onto Ino and pinned her down.

"Get off!" Ino yelled as she punched and kicked it. It eventually got off only to growl and jump back onto her. This time it pinned her arms and legs and was now looming over her, teeth snarling at her. It bit down hard on her shoulder and she screamed in pain. Shikamaru heard this and ran towards her. He knew he couldn't push the dog off and he didn't have anything else to avert it's attention. That's when Shikamaru remembered the stick tied to his leg. He yanked it off and whacked the dog off. He then threw it into teu woods and the dog chased after. InI was whimpering and clutching her shoulder, which now had a deep wound. Blood was coming out quickly and her hand was soon covered in blood. Shikamaru kneeled down to examine the bite.

"That's really bad." He said worried.

"No kidding." Ino winced.

"I get why you're scared of dogs now." Shikamaru said as he looked at Ino's shoulder again. He could see that she was trying not to cry.

"It sucks that we don't have any bandages left to use." Ino groaned. Shikamaru looked at the bandages that covered his body. He took the bandage from his leg and secured it on Ino's shoulder.

"But you need that." Ino protested.

"There's no cut on my leg. You need it. " Shikamaru responded

"But it held the stick to support your leg."

"I don't have that stick anymore."

"What?" Ino questioned

"I used it to fight the dog off you." Shikamaru answered.

"I thought you used your other stick to do that." Ino replied

"I used that stick to make the dog attacking me to leave." He explained.

"But you need those." Ino protested.

"I had to do what had to be done." Shikamaru explained

"You saved me again." Ino sighed. Ino rested her head on Shikamaru's shoulder.

"I always will." Shikamaru replied.

"I know." Ino smiled. Ino gently squeezed his arm and he gave a small smile.

"Are you okay to get going soon?" Shikamaru asked

"yep, are you?"

"I think so." Ino got up and helped Shikamaru stand.

"Now how are you going to walk?" Ino asked

"I can limp." Shikamaru joked.

"I can go back and get some stuff to help." Ino started as she walked off. Shikamaru pulled her wrist back.

"It's too risky. We don't know what else is in there." Shikamaru explained

"Fine. Then I'll help you." Ino suggested.

"How? It's not like you could carry me." Shikamaru questioned. Ino put one of Shikamaru's arms over her good shoulder and wrapped her arm aroun his waist to support him.

"That's how." Ino answered.

"Fine, but you better stop if your arm starts hurting too much." Shikamaru sighed

"Deal." Ino nodded. They weren't too far from a good rest spot so they decided to walk there and then stop. By that time the sun was beginning to set.

"It's so pretty." Ino said in awe.

"I guess." Shikamaru shrugged

"You're such a boy." Ino groaned

"And you're such a girl." He replied.

"Tommorow we go back to the village." Ino realized

"I wonder if anyone missed us."

"Asuma and Choji are probably happy to have some peace and quiet." Ino answered

"We haven't argued as much." Shikamaru observed

"You're right. We haven't really. I guess this trip really was a sucess." Ino replied.

"We should get some sleep for tommorow." Shikamaru said.

"We have a big day tommorow." Ino added. Shikamaru laid down and stared at the sky getting darker.

"Wait Shikamaru." Ino started as she crawled over.

"What is it?" Shikamaru asked

"Can you, hold me. Just until I fall asleep." Ino asked. Shikamaru sat up and raised an eyebrow.

"I feel safer, and this whole trip has taken alot out of me. But you make me feel safe, I know you wouldn't let anything happen to me." Ino explained. Shikamaru smiled and pulled Ino close. Ah rested her head against his chest as she fell into his embrace. She hugged his waist as she began to drift off. Her breathing got steadier until she was asleep. Shikamaru had moved so that he leaned against a tree and Ino was curled up into him. He was supposed to let go when sh was asleep, but he didn't. He didn't know if he ever would.


	8. Chapter 8

"Good morning." Ino yawned. Today was the day that they went back home. Ino felf her face get a light flush as she looked up. Shikamaru was still holding her. She was on her side and he was leaning back against a tree. Her head rested lightly on his chest and she could hear his steady heartbeat. Her hands still gripped his shirt loosely and her legs were curled beneath her. His arms were protectively around her avd he had a smile on his face. He cracked his eyes opened and groaned.

"Wake up, sleepy head." Ino giggled playfully. He rolled his eyes and looked down at her. He quickly hid his smile away using his usual bored expression. He couldn't hide the redness of his face though.

"Morning." He yawned. He still didn't move and raised an eyebrow when Ino looked up at him curiously.

"You have to let go now. I can't move." Ino sighed.

"Oh, yeah right sorry." Shikamaru mumbled as he let go. He had a small scowl and Ino giggled. Shikamaru mimicked her giggle and she frowned.

"That's not funny." She pouted. He smirked and she pushed him.

"Hey don't hit the guy with a broken leg!" He grumbled.

"Well don't insult a woman." Ino shot back.

"I didn't. You're not a woman, just a little," Shikamaru started but Ino lunged at him. She pushed him down and shook his shoulders.

"I'm sorry!" Shikamaru shouted frantically until she let go.

"It was a joke." He defended. Ino was brooding by a tree and he held in a laugh.

"Women are beautiful. I'm not!" Ino cried in frustration.

"Seriously Ino, have you seen yourself. You're by far the most beautifulgirl I've ever seen." he reassured as he patted her shoulder

"Of course I know that. I just wanted you to say it." She smirked.

"No fair!" he pouted. Ino flipped her long blonde hair and shrugged.

"All's fair in love and war." She replied.

"This isn't love or war." Shikamaru stated

"Are you sure?" Ino asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Positive." Shikamaru nodded

"Well you got one part right." Ino sighed.

"Which one?"

"Can't tell you. Figure it out." She giggled.

"Too troublesome. I don't care anyway." He huffed

"Yes you do. " Ino shot back.

"Do not."

"Denial." Ino sang as she skipped away. He rolled his eyes and followed. He thought about how it was so strange that Ino could go from being bubbly and perky to serious and vulnerable in a matter of minutes. She hid her feelings well that's for sure.

"Do you want the answer yet?" Ino asked.

"Nope and I never do." Shikamaru answered with a yawn.

"You're so boring." Ino pouted at her teammate.

"I know."

"Are you sure you don't want the answer?" Ino questioned again.

"I'm sure." Shikamaru groaned. Ino sighed and batted her eyelashes.

"That doesn't work on me." Shikamaru groaned as he looked away.

"Then why aren't you looking at me?" Ino questioned in her sweet voice. She leanee into him and he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Fine. It works on me." He gave up. She smiled happily and skipped ahead. She squealed when she saw the village gates.

"We're back!" She yelled happily. Shikamaru strode up behind her and smiled.

"About time." He mumbled.

"So my answer is," Ino started but stopped. She waited for Shikamaru to realize what she was referring to. She thought back to when Shikamaru confessed to her, he told her to tell him how she felt once the trip was over.

"My answer is yes. Yes I love you Shikamaru Nara." She confessed happily. He stared at her with widened eyes unable to find the words he was desperately looking for. Before he could reply he saw Choji and Asuma running towards them.

"You're back!" Choji shouted as he swept his friends into a group hug. They both winced and he let go. they looked at their injuries and sighed.

"You said this mission was going to not be dangerous!" Ino shouted at her teacher. She explained what happened to them with a fierce attitude.

"You're a liar." Shikamaru added at the end.

"Well we should get you two to the hospital." Asuma decided.

* * *

"So how was the trip, minus the many problems along the way?" Asuma asked Shikamaru. Shikamaru had to stay in his hotel room for the night.

"Uneventful then. Is Ino okay?" He asked.

"She has to get surgery for her shoulder." Asuma answered sadly.

"It's my fault." Shikamaru said bitterly

"No it's not. She's not even hurting, in fact she's arguing with the doctors right now. Don't beat yourself up about it." Asuma reassured. He examined Shikamaru's facial expression and sighed. It read worry, anger, troubled, and helplessness.

"Ino doesn't need you to babysit her, she's a great ninja. She can handle herself." Asuma added.

"But I'm supposed to,"Shikamaru was cut off by Asuma's heavy sigh.

"I know you care deeply for her. You love her don't you?" He suddenly asked. Shikamaru nodded.

"If you love her then let her be herself. If you constantly watch over her she'll genie TI resent you. She'll think she's useless. That doesn't mean you're not supposed to save her if she needs it. Just don't worry too much about her. " Asuma explained and left, his words lingering in Shikamaru's mind. Choji came in shortly after.

"How's the leg doing?" He asked

"It's great." He replied sarcastically, back in his usual tone.

"Ino said the same thing." Choji replied cheerfully.

"She had to have surgery right?" Shikamaru asked, trying to keep his voice normal.

"Yeah. She's making you sound like a hero to the doctors now." He informed

"How?"

"She's telling this extravagant story about how you beat these dogs off her. She was saying how they attacked her and you beat one of them off her with a stick even though you have a broken leg. Gosh she's so dramatic, she was totally fangirling about you." Choji explained. Shikamaru smirked at the last comment but quickly hid it. Choji saw it and started smiling.

"You _like _her don't you?"he questioned happily. Shikamaru sniffed and turned away.

"Isn't she too troublesome though. Also she doesn't exactly fit your future wife. You want a girl that's not too pretty or ugly. Ino's too pretty." Choji told his friend

"She's the most troublesome girl I know, she's also the prettiest. Ironic isn't it?"

"I always thought you liked her. I mean you always catch her when she does her jutsu, half the time she doesn't need it. That one time I caught her, you took her away from me. You told me to focus on the fighting not on her." Choji remembered.

"Hey you're the offense." Shikamaru explained

"Plus I've seen you checking her out at least ten times." Choji chuckled

"No I haven't!" Shikamaru shouted

"You also got into a fight with that guy from the barbecue place." Choji added

"He was harassing Ino. You were no help by the way." Shikamaru defended. Choji raised an eyebrow and left. Shikamaru sunk back into his bed and groaned. Was he really that obvious? Ino burst into his room and slammed the door.

"They're driving me insane!" she cried.

"What are you here?" Shikamaru laughed

"I needed to get away." She said out of breath. She sat in the edge of the bed and out her head in her hands.

"Ino what happens next?"

"Next for what?"

"Are we dating or not?"

"It would make sense." Ino said happily.

"Well if your my girlfriend now, there's been something I've wanted to do for a very long time." Shikamaru said as he grabbed Ino's waist and pulled her closer. She giggled and let him gently lay her down on the bed. He planted a soft kiss and Ino kissed back. Her arms wrapped around his neck, his arms were on either side of her as he hovered above her. They kept the kiss light and soft.

"Shika." Ino whispered. Her eyes were slightly open as she looked up at Shikamaru.

"I've wanted to do this for a long time too." she whispered and went back to kissing. They heard the door open and they saw their teacher standing in the doorway.

"Really? You could've have waited until you were out of the hospital?" He asked disapprovingly. Shikamaru nervously laughed as he moved so Ino could get up.

"Sorry sensei." She mumbled

"Gosh kissing in a hospital room. What has this world become?" Asuma questioned to himself as he walked off.

"Well I guess we're stuck with each other now." Ino giggled. Shikamaru smiled and never let that smile drop again when he was with Ino.


End file.
